Pinkie (video game)

Pinkie is a 1994 platform video game developed by Data Design Interactive and originally published by Millennium Interactive for the Amiga. A Super Nintendo Entertainment System version was released by Piko Interactive in 2018. In the game, the player assumes the role of Pinkie, who is tasked with collecting dinosaur eggs through the galaxy to prevent their extinction. The player controls Pinkie and his "Pinkie Pod" vehicle across 50 levels featuring their own variety of enemies and obstacles divided into five planets. The Pinkie Pod can perform various actions, and the player can obtain upgrades to augment its features.

Pinkie began production in January 1993 on the Amiga platform when co-designers Stuart Green and Scott Williams discussed what they liked in games, settling to make a game that was playable as Mario with puzzles and "everything in there". The game was developed primarily on the Amiga, although it was being made simultaneously for other systems, which led the team with a "console-ish" thought process and designed it to be console-orientated. The music was scored by Darren Wood and the record label Station 2 Station. Versions for Amiga CD32, Game Gear, and Sega Mega Drive were planned but never released. It garnered average reception from the Amiga gaming press.

Gameplay
Pinkie is a side-scrolling platform game with puzzle elements reminiscent of Super Mario World and James Pond 3 in which the player assumes the role of Pinkie, who is tasked with collecting dinosaur eggs through the galaxy to prevent their extinction. The player controls Pinkie and his "Pinkie Pod" vehicle across 50 levels featuring their own variety of enemies and obstacles divided into five planets, each one represented by an overworld map that expands after completing a level. Pinkie must collect two out of three eggs placed on pre-determined spots in order to complete a level.

Pinkie can jump over enemies to stun them temporarily when outside of his pod vehicle, but can only take one hit before losing a life. When using the Pinkie Pod, the player is invulnerable and perform various actions such as elevate to reach higher platforms, attack enemies, dive underwater, and store collected eggs. Between levels, the player can obtain upgrades for the Pinkie Pod to augment its features. After completing each level on a planet, a boss must be fought to progress further.

Development
Pinkie was created by Data Design Interactive, a British game developer which had previously worked for publisher Millennium Interactive on the Commodore 64 and Game Boy versions of James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod, and level design for James Pond 3. It was co-produced by Stewart Green and Tony Hackett. Green also served as game designer, scenario writer, and character designer alongside Scott Williams, who worked as designer and programmer on Krusty's Super Fun House (1992). Williams conceived the game's concept and acted as programmer, with Antonio Argentieri and Simon Prytherch providing additional routines. Lead artist John Court was responsible for the graphic design, while Mark Rafter was in charge of storyboarding the game's introductory sequence. The soundtrack was scored by Darren Wood and the record label Station 2 Station. Several staff members also collaborated in the game's development process. Green and Millennium manager Keith Smith recounted the project's creation and history in interviews.

Pinkie began production in January 1993 when Green and Williams discussed what they liked in games, settling to make a game that was playable as Mario with puzzles and "everything in there". They wanted it to be graphically different and conceived the character of Pinkie, whose appearance was gradually modified as the game's concept evolved during development over the course of six months until it was finalized. The team wanted something different for the game and came with the idea of "opposites" that resulted in Pinkie's pod. The character was colored pink to make him look vulnerable and gave him large eyes to add a "cute" element, while their idea when designing the pod was a tough armor-plated gadget ship. However, the team got carried away with the pod and realized there were too many options, deciding to limit the player's number of movements with it when designing levels and implementing puzzles. All the game's visuals were designed to be compressed, as the team were accostumed to compression routines due to their previous experience with the Commodore 64 version of RoboCod.

Pinkie was developed primarily on the Amiga, which Data Design Interactive found to be an accessible and easy platform to program for, although it was being made simultaneously for other systems. The cross-platform programming led the team with a "console-ish" thought process and designed the game to be console-orientated. The team initially placed more details in the background but when showcasing the game, the public liked it looking more simplistic and the flat pastel coloring, which led to more basic backgrounds. By de-emphasising complex backgrounds and parallax effects, it allowed the team to display 32 colors onscreen instead of 16 colors, although Green admitted the game could have been faster. For the alien level, the background was animated using a method where the onscreen block grids are constantly updating. Millennium market tested the game early on with a focus group composed of children, who liked the cute and puzzle elements instead of the platforming component as well as exploring the levels. The record label Station 2 Station approached Millennium, asking for characters with audio potential. Millennium went to Station 2 Station and showed them screenshots, artwork, and Pinkie's profile to produce a marketable single in a month. Millennium also settled an agreement where Station 2 Station would composed the in-game music as well.

Release
Pinkie was initially planned to be published by Millennium Interactive for Amiga in the Easter of 1994, then it was slated for March and later for June; it was released on September (although October is also listed as release date). An Amiga CD32 version was announced but never released despite being reviewed by British publication Amiga CD32 Gamer. Game Gear and Sega Mega Drive versions were also under development by Millennium and planned to be published by Tengen;  both versions were first scheduled for August 1994 and later for September,   while the Mega Drive version was planned for November but neither version materialized. A Super Nintendo Entertainment System version was going to be published by Sony Electronic Publishing, but it never released until a prototype ROM image was leaked online in 2014. In 2015, Piko Interactive acquired the rights of the unreleased SNES version and opened up pre-orders in 2017. The SNES version was released in May 2018.

Reception
Pinkie garnered average reception from the Amiga gaming press. CU Amiga's Tony Dillon regarded it as a fun and original game, praising the graphical presentation and techno soundtrack but found its overall appeal too limited, commenting that younger players will get bored with the game while older players might find it slow to be enjoyable. The One Amiga's Matt Broughton commended the game's graphics, humorous character animations, varied levels, and the Pinkie Pod for being a major "toy-fest", but noted similarities with the James Pond series and criticized its shallow gameplay. Amiga Concept's Séverine Ducly and Fabinnou found the game friendly and fun, and highlighted Pinkie's character, but both reviewers concurred with Broughton regarding similarities with James Pond. They also felt the game's controls were occasionally tricky and saw the "cute" visuals far from exceptional.

Amiga Computing's Jonathan Maddock echoed similar thoughts when comparing Pinkie with the James Pond series, notably its blend of platform action and puzzles. Maddock labelled the game as a "cracking little platformer", praising its pastel-colored graphics, well-presented character animations, pop soundtrack, adequate sound effects, and large bosses. Amiga Dream's Grégory Halliday agreed with Maddock about the pastel-toned visuals, stating that they give charm to the presentation but noted the occasionally bare backgrounds. Halliday also felt the game took characteristics from the James Pond series, specifically James Pond 3. Amiga Joker's Richard Löwenstein gave the game positive remarks to its music, suitable sound effects, and control system, but faulted the constant disk swapping, jerky scrolling, little detailed graphics, and poor sprite animations. Computer and Video Games deemed it as an enjoyable platform/puzzle game for kids, commending its colorful hand-drawn environments, audio, and playability.

French magazine Génération 4 gave Pinkie positive remarks for its graphics, animated backgrounds, length, difficulty, and Pinkie's maneuverability, but felt it did not bring any innovation. Amiga Games' Michael Erlwein commended the game's cute and colorful visuals, but criticized its lack of innovation, animations, lukewarm presentation, and monotonous level design. Writing for German magazine Play Time, Oliver Menne expressed that the title was a "run-of-the-mill platformer" reminiscent of other games while Ingolf Held shared Erlwein's opinion regarding its lack of innovation. In contrast to most critics, Amiga Power's Jonathan Nash lambasted various aspects of the game such as the empty levels and collision detection, calling it a "wretchedly unsalvageable platform nonsense". Polish publication Secret Service disagreed with Nash's sentiment, opining that it is a good game and but found the visuals unimpressive. Score's Ladislav Babuška gave the game an overwhelmingly negative outlook and concurred with Nash on most points.